www.incontinentsupport.org

I became incontinent when I was 14. Dealing with diapers in high school in the 1950s was a huge problem. However, the old saying that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger seems to have been true for me. I eventually adapted to the situation and got on with leading a reasonably normal and full life. Today, diapers are just the kind of underwear that I wear.

Hi adhb,

I'm 44 and been wearing diapers since 11, when I had a mastoid ectamy operation on my ears. The nature of my illness was that my body retained water, so the hospital forced me to wear diapers while they administered the diuretic, and a good thing.

With my body connected to an IV, I couldn't get out of bed fast enough to use the toilet and ended up using the diapers. I'm not sure what happened, but after that I started wetting the bed frequently. I've worn diapers at night since then, but about a month and a half ago I suffered a compound fracture of the lower leg and ankle in my left leg and a broken heel on the right leg. I've been totally bed ridden for the whole time, and have a couple more months to go.

In the hospital they first put me on a catheter, which worked fine until I got sore. Then I tried to use the pee bottle, but not being able to get a good position due to my legs, I leaked on the bed frequently. So I was put in diapers. I've been wearing diapers 24/7 since.

Fortunately, I had no aversion to wearing diapers from the beginning. When the nurse first brought in the diapers she was surprised that it didn't bother me at all. The nurses were all kind and did what they could to help me along.

To be honest, I've become so used to wearing diapers now that I'm wondering if I want to go back to thin underwear, when the time comes. Time will tell.

Whitehorse

Hi adhb I read you comments about accepting incon at frist just tried to pass it off but it was always there was really upset with it .The one thing i choose not to do was take pills or have surgery,still a hard problem to live with but begining to come to terms with itTHANKS RON

After becomming totally incontinent about a year ago, i was faced with a lot of choices. I am a very active person, still a young 46 years old and I carefully considered all of my options. I was against surgury from the beginning. All of the reccommendations carried signifigant risks with no guarantee of results. The last thing I wanted, was to alter my body and still have to wear diapers.
I will not do catheters, due to a personal abusive experience from ny past which contributed to my incontinence, so that left diapers as my choice in managing my incontinence.
I absolutly hated it at first. I hated having to carry a diaper bag everywhere I went..
I hated having to wear diapers and being unable to stop myself from wetting them.
I hated having to change my diapers every 4 hours or so.
But slowly..over time..I came to see that once I adjusted to my situation, that I could still be as active as I had always been.
I came to accept my situation and to move on.
I still, and always will, have those surgical options..but I do not regret my decision to manage incontinence with diapers rather than with meds or surgury.
Life DOES go on.

Jon,
I really applaud you for your insight and great attitude! I fully agree with your view of pills and surgury. With neural based incon, my only surgical fix was an artificial sphincter and that would come at great expense and no guarantee that I'd be out of diapers.

I like the way you put it: "The last thing I wanted, was to alter my body and still have to wear diapers."

What I'd like to add, for what it's worth, is why carry that diaper bag and change every four hours or so? It's good for your skin, no question about it, but I kept extending my diaper wear time until I could go 8-10 hours which is a huge convenience for me since I never have to change while away from home. Your skin will dictate whether you can get away with the extended time in wet diapers. A thorough shower morning and night keeps my skin happy while I am happy that I can live my life without the damn diaper bag and having to find someplace to change!

How to get extended wear time? there are lots of suggestions here but I think the least bulky solution is a premium diaper (Abena, Moli) with a size 6 baby diaper stuffer. After your four hours, pull out the baby diaper and discard it and continue the rest of the day with the original diaper.

Let me conclude by saying keeping an emergency kit doesn't hurt-a diaper and wipes-but that stays permanently in the car.

Joe K

My incontinence has been steadly increassing for 7 years. But this discussion relates as 2 years ago I spent 3 months in a belly to knee spica cast. During that time my dependence on diapers became a 24/7 thing almost. Between my condition and the drugs my body is dependent on I spend alot of time in bed. Cathing was terrible for me with endless UTIs and even more meds. Even then my body relaxes during sleep and my bladder just drains. With all the meds my bowel program is helpful but often pointless. At this point diapers are my main if not only way of dealing with incontinence. I feel like I have given up but with 3 kids and a ever increassing disability I have other worries.

I'm with Brandie on this one. My incontinence has gotten steadily worse over the last few years. When I had my urodynamics and cystoscopy, I was only leaking a small bit after I urniated. I wasn't bedwetting or anything. But over the last few years, I have started having issues bedwetting and with OAB and urge incontinence. I leak like 8-12x a day. I also have IBS and leak stool quite often. That happens to me like 2-3x a week. All this is supposedly because of my psychiatric meds causing me to leak. The meds that are making me well are also making me sick. How ironic? I'm in the process of getting a second opinion from a urologist at a local Naval Hospital. I have taken many anticholinergenics with no success. I have even been on DDAVP. No luck. I have come to rely on diapers to get me through life. I don't want surgery; I don't want any more meds. I just want to be normal.

I don't think I will ever get "used to it" as far as having abnormal bladder function compared to the general population. Not having any issues until I was 26 or so, then all of a sudden, having things change and suddenly being on the watch for bathrooms, worring about having an accident while out in the general public, that never is something I have gotten used to. I have learned to live with it, but it is so much different then it was before, it is most likely something I will never be used to as far as I have a bladder problem. It would be nice to travel and not have to always be in "bladder thought mode", it does like to try to take over your life, that is for sure. Emptying leg bags, or changing diapers is something that is not easy to all of a sudden slip into your life without some profound alterations that have to occur. I don't carry a diaper bag, but have a kit in the trunk that is never far away, and a spare tucked into an inner jacket pocket, during the summer it is easier to conceal external cath supplies for sure. Be prepared, just like the Boy Scouts, you learn that fast with incontinence, but like everyone here says... Life goes on... Puffy

You're right Puff. Life does go on. On top of incontinence I have Bipolar Disorder, for which I just take meds, and Nocturnal Hypoxia. The Hypoxia is when I don't breathe in enough Oxygen when I sleep. One of my psych meds puts me to sleep at night so deeply that it effects my breathing. So I have to sleep with a machine called an oxygen concentrator. It is about 2 feet tall and weighs like 40lbs. and sits next to my bed at night. It delivers oxygen through a nasal canulator. Let me tell you, this thing is so annoying. I hate sleeping with it. I hate it worse than wearing diapers. This machine I have to take with me when I travel and it serves as a constant reminder that I have an illness. I hate it.

That would be the end of a good nights sleep for me having something like that next to the bed, I have to have it dead silent at night, light sleeper as it is, until I get so exhausted I could sleep through an atomic bomb! I am guessing it is similar to a BiPap machine, that forces more air into your system then you draw in on your own? Earplugs would be a must for sure! I can't sleep well with even a mini heater fan running in the hallway, something nexty to the bed must be really bothersome, or do you get used to it after a while? Sleep meds would be the alternative, but I hate the groggy feeling the next morning for anything I have ever tried, Puffy